Discover Palawan Through the Colorful Baragatan Festival

Puerto Princesa, an independent city of Palawan where nature begins and never ends, is rich in history, culture, and tourist spots. No wonder Puerto Princesa is one of the most visited places in “The Last Ecological Frontier of the Philippines”.

One of the tourist attractions in Puerto Princesa is the yearly Baragatan Festival.

From a Cuyonon term that means to meet or meeting, Baragatan is a colorful festival where different municipalities in Puerto Princesa meet and tell the history and culture of their native place through an upbeat performance.

After almost 3 years of slumber, 7 municipalities gathered in the street of Rizal in Puerto Princesa and filled it with vibrant colors, eye-catching costumes, and groovy music.

Quezon, Magsaysay, Brooke’s Point, Kalayaan, Rizal, San Vicente, and El Nido municipality strut their way to showcase what their barangay has to offer to tourists and to the world.

“Baragatan sa Bagong Palawan Ngayon, Moderno, Progresibo, at Kilala sa Buong Mundo” is the theme for Baragatan 2022. True to form, all seven municipalities showed that they are progressive, adapting to modern living, while preserving their culture and heritage.

The first to perform is coined as “the Hidden Paradise of Palawan”, Kalayaan shared through dance and majestic costumes what tourists can see and discover when they visit the far yet wonderful island of Kalayaan.

Unity is what Tribu San Vicente wants to convey to everyone through their performance. Uniting different beliefs, cultures, and race is what San Vicente wants to achieve because they believe that with unity, progress is within reach.

Inspired by the traditions and customs of the indigenous tribe of Taaw’t Bato or Tau’t Bato. Living at Mt. Mantalingahan, the highest mountain in Palawan, Rizal’s performance tackled how this tribe survives, helped in enriching the municipality of Rizal, and preserved their cultural heritage despite the changes happening around them.

Tribu Maruyognon of Brooke’s Point showed a very timely performance. With this performance, they proved that no pandemic can stop Palaweños be at their best, enriching their culture, and protecting the land they call home.

El Nido is one of the places that made Palawan known to the world. While it soars high like the bird “Balinsasayaw” their culture and heritage start to be forgotten. That’s why Tribu Kurung Kurung paid tribute to their lineage and showed what is El Nido once upon a time.

Magsaysay is known for its music and dances that made an impact on the culture of Palawan. Tipano is one of the instruments that originated in Magsaysay, and that are used by their ancestors. One of the songs from Magsaysay is Ploning which has a movie adaptation that made marks around the world. Tribu Pangalipay showed that though they are a progressive municipality, they still manage to keep their heritage alive through songs and dances.

Tribu Manunggul of Quezon proudly showcased how their municipality placed Palawan on the map of the world. The performers proudly showed everyone the rich discoveries and world-class heritage that earned them the title, “The Home of the 50,000 years of Philippine Prehistory in South East Asia”.

All 7 municipalities showered everyone with great learning, short but meaningful tours about the history and culture of their hometown, and let us bring home wonderful memories about Palawan.

At the end of the day, 3 municipalities emerged as winners of this year’s Baragatan Street Dancing competition.

Brooke’s Point placed 3rd and took home Php 500,000, Magsaysay earned 2nd place and bagged Php 700,000, and the Grand Champion is the municipality of Quezon who won Php 1,000,000.

Through Baragatan 2022, I learned a lot of things about Palawan. It’s not just the beautiful beaches, the tourist spots, and delicious food that molded this wonderful island to be known around the world but also the culture, the heritage, the beliefs, and the people of Palawan.

Palawan is truly a wonderful place to explore, enrich, and be proud of.
We may not have all the time to visit all the municipalities that make Palawan extraordinary, but they have a festival that can help us discover Palawan in a very colorful and entertaining way and that is Baragatan Festival.